Are drones the new security cameras?

Security will always be a concern, both for the average homeowner and businesses. Whether you want to protect your home, vehicle and contents, a shop or office building that you work in or run, or even protecting larger facilities like depots or warehouses, standard procedure for protection is installing security cameras, such as HD CCTV Kits or IP CCTV Kits. If these are too expensive an option, then fitting Dummy CCTV Cameras to hopefully deter any potential intruders is another viable method of protection, albeit less secure.

However, technology is becoming more and more advanced and the application of drones for security is becoming somewhat more commonplace. Other commercial applications, such as showcasing festivals, activities or locations, are due to see an enormous increase in global market worth, with a predicted value of $127.3 billion by 2020. This would be a huge jump worth 6,000% in just three years. Security is set to provide at least $10 billion worth of this value. Could this perhaps herald a drop in the need for HD CCTV Kits, IP CCTV Kits and Dummy CCTV Cameras?

This seems unlikely, as although drones are becoming more popular for security purposes, they are still a large investment for most companies. Not only are the drones themselves expensive, they also require an operator who has undergone specific training procedures. They also must adhere to flight zone rules and other laws specifically brought in to assist with the regulation of drone flying. If these laws are broken, then companies could face a hefty fine.

They also face the same problems that any new technology faces. Their use is unchartered territory and has not had the same developments and changes that more standard security systems like HD CCTV Kits, IP CCTV Kits and Dummy CCTV Cameras have had over the years they have been implemented. This means that they are perhaps not as well optimised as stationary camera-based security systems. Automated drone systems are very rare currently, as they cost a lot of money and use advanced technology. This means that a drone system being used for security is only as good as its pilot, who may not be very skilled at all considering it is new technology with a steep learning curve.

There are some benefits of having a drone security system. They can be used to monitor zones which are unsafe for humans to otherwise operate in, such as oil drills in warzones, or high-risk areas such as reactors and power stations. There is definitely a market for drone security, but it may take a while for it to reach its full potential. Security cameras already offer a solution for monitoring your property, so investing a large amount of money in drones just to do the same job but from higher up is somewhat redundant. However, it is worth noting that they have significant value when their intended use is somewhere dangerous. This is why it is likely that the military budget for security drones will see an increase, but the commercial and domestic security drone market may stay small for a few years now.